Everybody Loves Carnivals
by SilverMikazuki
Summary: Set after The Courtship of Wyatt's Father. Chris has been avoiding Piper and she wants to know why. Luck for her Phoebe as the perfect answer! I mean everybody loves carnivals, right?


**Everybody Loves Carnivals**

A Charmed Story

A Chris and Piper Story

Talking _thinking_ Narration

**Author's Notes: **Once again, I still don't own Charmed… *sigh* anyway, this Fic is somewhere in between _The Courtship of Wyatt's Father_ and _Hyde School Reunion. _Just another Piper and Chris drabble, which I can't seem to get enough of lately… but for those out there who like my stuff, but don't like Charmed, I'll be back to writing other Fanfics soon… maybe. Btw, the magician that I mention in this, actually exists. I saw him at Hershey Park, though I have no idea what his true name was. Plus he didn't actually do the box trick, but it fit, so sue me!

* * *

"He hates me…" The oldest charmed one muttered as Chris orbed out with barely a word.

It was only recently that Piper Halliwell had discovered the real motives behind the witchlighter's decision to return from the future and even less time had passed since she'd learned the true identity of their new whitelighter. Christopher Perry Halliwell was Piper's second son, one that she had just become pregnant with. But the brunette had done an amazing job of hiding his relationship to his mother, and his aunts, maybe too well of one. He had come off as a random neurotic and manipulative liar who had come from the future to simply to mess with them. The only reason he had stayed around as long as he had, was the fear that some evil might actually have gotten Wyatt in the future. Of course his distant personality had only caused distrust and hardened feelings with his family and pain for the young half-witch. As of now, everyone except for his father, Leo, knew about Chris's Halliwell status and Piper was trying desperately to heal their relationship, a job which was proving to be much more difficult than originally planned. Chris seemed happy, and much closer with his aunts, but his mother… she only received the brush off and a quick goodbye. It seemed like every time she tried to speak with him he'd make up some excuse and orb out a second later.

"No! He doesn't hate you," Paige argued.

"No it's true. He hate's me," Piper repeated, sighing. "I only wish I knew what I do… or maybe it's what I've done? I've done nothing but treat him like crap since he got here…"

"That's… well you didn't know he was your son and he was pretty suspicious. Don't worry sis, he'll come around," Paige said, attempting to consol her.

"Maybe you can do something with him, ya know? Some mother-son bonding!" Phoebe suggested. "How about the carnival that's in town?"

"Everybody loves carnivals!" Paige exclaimed in agreement.

Piper sighed softly as she mulled over the idea, "_Everyone does like carnivals… I know I always have. Hmm… maybe this is the perfect way to get to know my son a little more!_"

"Alright! I'll do it!" Piper shouted happily. "And since this was your idea, you can take care of Wyatt."

Phoebe's eyes widened, but Piper had dashed down the stairs before she could even open her mouth. The oldest Halliwell walked silently into the conservatory, smiling as she watched her firstborn sleeping peacefully under the red light of the already setting sun. She strolled over, careful not to make a sound as she leaned over the playpen's edge, kissing her baby boy and heading for the front door.

"Alright, Wyatt's bottle's in the fridge and there are extra dippers in the kitchen! I'll be back later!" Piper told her sister before slamming the door in her face.

"What… just happened?" Phoebe asked, turning to her younger sister.

"You just got stuck with babysitting dude. Have fun!" The half-witch replied with a grin, orbing out moments later.

"Great…" The middle sister sighed, smiling softly as she migrated towards her nephew. "Looks like I'll be spending the night with you little guy!"

Wyatt sighed peacefully in his sleep as his aunt bent down, placing a kiss on his cheek.

About ten minutes later Piper had arrived at the local fair, looking for a place that her son could orb into.

"_This should be good… alright, let's hope he comes,_" Piper thought, quietly yelling out for her future son. "Chris!"

No answer.

Piper frowned, waiting a few moment's before trying once again. "Chris!"

Still nothing, and the oldest sister had never been known for her patience… or lack of a temper.

"Christopher Perry Halliwell! Get your ass over here!" She shouted angrily tapping her foot as she waited for the green-eyed witch to appear.

Nothing, once again. Piper was beginning to get pissed. She thought back, wondering how she could get the already allusive boy to orb to her when he was making it pretty clear that he was trying to avoid her. She sighed, stifling her smile as she resorted to her secret weapon.

"Chris! Help! Demon!" She yelled and in seconds flat, a blue light appeared before her, a neurotic half-whitelighter taking its place.

"Where's the demon!" He asked quickly, his eyes darting around her to get a glimpse of the "demon."

"There is no demon," Piper replied matter-of-factly.

"What! No demon? But then why did you…" Chris started, his own temper beginning to rise.

"Because! You wouldn't have come if I hadn't! You already ignored two of my calls," His mother answered, her voice full of maternal scolding.

Chris smiled and rolled his eyes, quickly shaking his head to regain focus.

"Piper–"

"Mom."

"_Mom_, you can't fake a demon attack. What if next time I ignore you and you really are attacked?" He asked, his Halliwell anger growing.

"I guess you better not ignore me anymore, huh?" She replied smirking.

Chris sighed; he knew when he'd been beaten. After all, she was the reason for his own fierce stubborn attitude.

"Alright… fine, now what were you calling for?" The witchlighter asked impatiently.

"Well, I thought we could go to the carnival," His mother replied smiling. "We're already here anyway."

"The carnival?" Chris asked, a weird look plastered on his face. "Pip–"

"Mom."

"_Mom, _I didn't come back to go to the carnival. I came back…"

"To save Wyatt," Piper finished for him. "I know Chris, but… you're my son and I'd like to spend some time with you."

Chris said nothing, but his eyes spoke for him. He was nervous… extremely apprehensive for some reason and this was not lost on Piper Halliwell. She saw the pain in his eyes, but it only pushed her on. She needed to know what caused that. She deserved to. It was her right, right? She was his mother after all. Piper sighed, she already knew his answer, and at the moment she wondered why she even asked.

"Alright… but we're making it quick, okay?" The future Halliwell said, his words causing his mother to break out into a grin.

"Really? Wow! You must really like carnivals!" Piper replied happily starting towards the entrance.

Chris laughed. "Doesn't everyone?"

"_Maybe this really will work_," The Charmed One said to herself.

The two walked inside, paid for the tickets and started down the main road. Passing the food vendors and a few game booths, Piper and her son strolled aimlessly, a slightly awkward silence filling the air around them.

"So… how about a ride?" Piper asked in an attempt to break the silence.

"Sure," Her son replied quickly.

The Charmed One looked around, her chocolate eyes drawn to a large spinning ride. She cringed inwardly, as she'd never really liked spinning rides.

"Uh… the Twirler?" She suggested half-heartedly.

"Nah, spinning rides have always made me a little queasy," He replied. "What about that one?"

She smiled turning her head to look at the large swinging boat ride. "_I guess we've got something in common._"

"Sure," She replied, smiling.

"Please put your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times," The conductor announced, as Piper and Chris sat in the back row. "Thank you and enjoy the ride!"

The mechanical boat groaned, swinging up before flying back like a pendulum. Back and forth they went, the two laughing and shouting along with the other riders.

"I always loved this ride!" Chris shouted smiling as he looked to his mother. "I love that feeling you get–"

"In the pit of your stomach when you swing back down?" Piper asked, shouting to be heard over the laughter.

"Yeah!" Chris shouted back grinning like a madman.

He looked to her and she saw his eyes, once filled with happiness, flash with pain right before he turned away. Her own smile fell moments later as she sighed, waiting for the ride to come to a stop.

The two got off and started back on their walk, the air around them filled with the same awkwardness that Piper thought they had just overcome.

"How about a game?" Chris asked, nodding towards a large machine on their right.

"One of those shooting games? Don't tell me you can win at that thing," Piper laughed, looking to him skeptically.

Chris shrugged, a small smile appearing on his face. "Maybe, what about you?"

"Is that a challenge?" She asked, her lips set in a smile.

"It is if you're up to it," Chris replied, slipping two quarters into the slots.

"Oh, I'm up for it," Piper said lifting one of the guns into her arms. "And you're gonna learn why you never mess with your mom!"

Chris laughed as he picked up his own gun. "Yeah? We'll see."

"READY! START!"

The machine whirled to life as Piper and Chris rushed into action. The two fired at the screen, killing the zombies that rushed at them. They laughed as they battled, watching the other's score carefully.

"Not nearly as fun as demons, huh?" Chris asked over the explosions.

"Haha, watch it. We don't need to asking for trouble!" She replied, laughing.

Finally the game was done, the bullets exhausted and the scores being calculated.

"WINNER! RED!" The machine finally announced.

"YEAH!" Piper shouted, sliding the gun into its slot and smacking her son's arm. "I told you I'd win! But you did put up a good fight."

Chris laughed, "Yeah I guess I'm not as good as you yet. I never did beat–"

The brunette's face fell, a sad look glazing over his green eyes as Piper's own eyes quickly followed suit. She looked at him, confused and saddened by his sudden stop.

"_He acts… so strange. He never did beat me? Why would that cause him to act like that?_" The eldest charmed one thought as she reached up and placed a hand on her future son's cheek.

He pulled away, pulling her heart out with him. Sensing her pain the witchlighter turned back to his mother, a fake-smile gracing his face.

"Sorry… I just…" He muttered, but the pain seeped into his voice.

"No it's fine! Umm… how about another ride?" She asked, hoping to distract him.

It worked, he smiled – a real smile this time – and joined his Mom as they walked towards the other attractions. She looked back and forth, wondering what would distract her youngest son best.

"COME SEE THE FABULOUS MR. BORZO!" A man shouted from his perch a top a large box. "HIS MAGIC TALENTS WILL AMAZE YOU! ASTOUND YOU! AND SHOW YOU THAT MAGIC TRULY IS REAL!"

Piper laughed, she'd always found those "magicians" to be completely hilarious. In fact, if it were her choice she wouldn't mind going to the show just to watch the "magician," and maybe make snide comment or to, but she was pretty sure no one else would enjoy that.

"Hey, Pi– _Mom_, how about that show? I've always thought it was funny when mortals tried to be magicians. We could sit in the back, laugh at him; maybe do a little **real** magic?" Chris asked, completely blowing her theory out of the water.

She laughed and nodded, making a mental note that he was a lot more like him than she'd thought. They entered the large tent that was _Mr. Borzo's_ "magical theater" and sat in the back, snickering to themselves at even the idea of an amusement park magician.

"Thank you for coming to my show!" A tall, lanky man announced, walking onto the stage as he adjusted his mike.

Mr. Borzo's appearance only made the two truly magical people laugh harder. He was blond, only thirty or forty, with a ridiculous looking white pants and vest on, a green shirt popping out from underneath. But then, the real fun started. He started to show off his "magic" tricks. It started off small, pulling on and endless string of cloth that came from a seemingly small pocket and making things appear from nowhere, but Piper and Chris were delirious. The two laughed hysterically as the rest of the crowd cheered.

"Look! He's putting a cloth over that egg! OH MY GOD! It disappeared! That's… that's _soo_ amazing!" Piper exclaimed sarcastically, her voice barely able to keep straight as she struggled to suppress her laughter.

"I know! And look! Now the egg's back… no wait! It's a bird! That's insane!" Chris added, his own laughter threatening to burst out.

The crowd finally burst into cheers and the Halliwells took the chance to let out their laughter, but it didn't go unnoticed.

"And for my next trick, I'll need a volunteer! How about you? In the back! Yeah you! I know you were trying to hide, but why not! Come on down here!" Mr. Borzo shouted, pointing directly at Chris.

The future witchlighter's eyes widened with realization, turning to his mother with a look that said _"Obviously. It just had to be me." _But she just shrugged empathetically, laughing along with the crowd as he dragged his feet toward the stage.

"Hurry up, I won't bite!" The magician said, making Chris blush and the crowd laugh harder.

Chris finally arrived on the stage, embarrassed out of his mind and annoyed that they had been spotted so easily.

"So what's your name?" Mr. Borzo asked, smiling from ear to ear, as if this was an intentional punishment for laughing at his tricks.

"Chris," The brunette replied curtly, obviously not thrilled with his latest predicament.

"Aww come on Chris!" The magician said, slapping him on the back. "It's not that bad! Besides, I bet you've never been apart of magic before!"

Chris laughed, but it brought back the sarcastic awe that he'd had before being pulled up there.

"No way! And I've _always_ wanted to do some magic!" He exclaimed, his face alight.

Mr. Borzo's eyes narrowed, but he kept up his façade as well.

"Well great! Let's get this started then!" He exclaimed, watching as his assistant walked out with a large box, one big enough for Chris to step inside.

"Alright Chris, all you need to do is step inside this box and leave the rest to me!" He cried, gesturing to the large box that opened as he said it.

Chris said nothing as he stepped inside, a mischievous glint in his eyes. The fake magician closed the box and spun it around twice, showing that there weren't any doors in the back. A few moments later he stopped the box, holding his hands in front of it as shouted the magic word. In the back of the theater Piper Halliwell sat, her eyebrow raised as she wondered what her future son was planning. She'd seen the glint in his eyes and she knew it couldn't be good, so when he'd materialized beside her a few moments later she wasn't surprised.

"What are you doing!" She hissed, whacking him playfully as he smile broke through her chiding voice.

"Just freeze the room," He replied grinning. "Come on!"

Finally she gave in, if only to keep her son happy, waving her hands in the air and stopping everyone in their tracks.

"Great! Now, I'll orb you into the box and he'll be so freaked out he might actually faint!" The green-eyed witchlighter chortled.

"What? Chris! What about exposure!" His mother asked, attempting to be stern when she was clearly just as eager to do this as he was.

"Aww come on! There are no cameras and what's he gonna say? That he didn't do it; that we're witches?" Chris argued, his face still set in a smile.

"Oh alright!" Piper conceded, preparing herself for the orb that came seconds later.

As soon as she was in, the Charmed One unfroze the room and watched as the door opened to an astounded crowd and a freaked-out magician.

"B-b-but…" Mr. Borzo started, his eyes widened in astonishment.

The crowd cheered, looking back to see Chris standing where his mother was only seconds earlier and the magician's face reverted.

"Thank you! Thank you!" He exclaimed, bowing to the adoring crowd.

He may have had no idea what just happened, but he was an amusement park magician. He'd didn't get much praise.

Piper walked down the stairs and up to her son, bowing slightly as the crowd cheered her. The Halliwells left immediately after the shows end, hoping to avoid any questions from Mr. Borzo.

"That was hilarious!" Chris yelled as they ran out of the tent.

"It was totally against the rules," Piper contradicted, rolling her eyes as she met her son's skeptical look. "And extremely funny."

Chris laughed, putting an around his charge. "I love you Mom."

They both froze. This wasn't expected, in anyway, by either of them. Chris pulled back, shielding his face from her as the memories of pain filled his head. Piper stayed frozen and unmoving, shocked at the usually emotionless witchlighter's outburst.

"_He… he said he loved me. He said it and I thought he hated me…_" The Charmed One thought, a giant cloud of fears that she'd had all night instantly disappearing.

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't…" She heard suddenly.

The eldest Halliwell turned back around and caught her son's hand just as he'd started to run off.

"No, don't go. Please," Piper begged pulling the boy back towards her. "Let's… let's go get something to eat."

Chris's face softened, relief filling his form as he realized she wasn't going to obsess over his slip up.

Chris was munching on some fries. Piper was sipping at a drink. Neither was looking at each other, but Piper was the first to break.

"Chris?" She muttered, turning towards him.

He said nothing, but his look told her to go on.

"I love you too," She continued, watching as the same pain that filled him earlier glaze over his eyes now.

"What? What's so terrible that you can't love you mother?" She asked, her voice full of anger and annoyance.

"Nothing… just… nothing…" He replied, refusing to make eye contact with her.

"No! It's not…" She stopped, it was obviously hard for him and her snipping wouldn't help.

He voice softened, and she changed the subject. "How about you tell me more about you."

"You know I can't. Future–" The witchlighter started.

"Consequences," His mother finished. "I know, but I meant something about you, personally."

The brunette looked back at her suspiciously, but nodded.

"Uh… do you have a girlfriend in the future?" She asked, a smile appearing on her face.

"Well… Bianca…" He replied and she regretted the question.

"How about a job?" She asked next, determined to press on.

"No. There's not much time when the world's been taken over by evil," He replied sarcastically, crossing his arms as he looked at her hoping for a reason to her questions.

She sighed. It was like he was exact same whitelighter from before! Nothing had changed, and after all the time they'd spent together! She shook her head internally; she was going to figure him out.

"Fine," She said finally. "What were you planning on doing? Any hobbies?"

His features relaxed slightly and he shrugged, leaning forward to sip from his drink.  
"Nothing much. I always liked baseball, and drawing… though I thought about becoming a chef," He answered nonchalantly.

"You play baseball? And draw? And cook!" She asked, grateful for the insight into her youngest son.

"A little, before Wyatt took over. And yeah, I still do sometimes, though now it's usually demons," He replied, answering her first two questions. "As for cooking… well Wyatt definitely couldn't carry on your recipes, he burnt water."

She smiled, obviously he took after Leo in that department. The eldest Charmed One turned her attention back to Chris, he was so much like her. They had so much in common she was shocked that she hadn't figured out that he was her son before.

"_But then… why was he avoiding her? It couldn't be the way I've acted. He's let down his guard a lot with me, it's only when he truly connects me with his mother from the future that he… was I that terrible? What could I possibly have done?_" She wondered, deathly afraid of the answer.

"Am I… Am I…" Piper began, a few tears collecting at the sides of her eyes. "Am I a bad mom?"

But Chris's look surprised her. He looks shocked, astounded, but nowhere in his face is their even a trace of anger.

"What! A bad- no! No! You were – are great…" He shouted back, his voice faltering at the end of his sentence. "Why would you think you're a bad mom? And why are you doing all this?"

She looks back at him and bites her lip, undoubtedly afraid to tell him.

"I was… I wanted to make up for the way I've treated you… and anything I might've done in the future…" She finally answered, her tear-filled eyes connecting with his green ones.

"Pi- Mom, that's not necessary, you didn't, haven't… **won't **do anything," He replied, unsure of what tense to use.

"Then why are you avoiding me?"

It was a simple enough question, but it was one that bore down straight into the young witchlighter's heart.

"I… I'm not… I don't mean to be… I just… I don't want to…" He stuttered, completely unsure of what to say… or unable.

"Please Chris, I need to know. What happened? What'd I do!" She asked, her voice frantic and full of desperation.

"YOU DIED!" Her future son cried back, sobs wracking his entire body. "Y-you… you died. On my birthday… a demon… it k-killed… r-right in front… it… m-my fault…"

He sobs clouded his speech to the point of incoherency, but Piper understood the majority. She'd died, right in front of him no less, and he blamed himself.

The eldest Charmed One stood immediately, and slid in to Chris's side of the booth, pulling his head into the crook of her neck.

"I'm s-sooooo s-sorry!" He whispered, tears still flowing from his eyes as he held her close to him. "It was… i-it was my f-fault… if I h-hadn't been there… y-you… you wouldn't have been distracted… you c-could h-have killed it… b-b-but… I…"

His voice faltered and Piper shushed him, rocking back and forth slowly as his sobs quieted.

"Chris honey," She consoled. "This isn't you fault. I know that I wasn't there, but I promise. It wasn't your fault."

"But that's not true! If I'd been stronger! If I'd been faster! Hell! If I hadn't been born! Then m-maybe… maybe y-you'd… be…" He countered, his voice breaking as he threatened to break down again.

"Listen to me Chris… CHRIS!" She shouted, forcing him to look her in the eye. "That. Wasn't. Your. Fault. I want you to repeat that, because it's true."

He sighed, his eyes showing his disbelief.

"Chris, it wasn't your fault," She reiterated. "And I promise, this time, it won't happen."

The emerald eyes before her shown with hope as a soft smile appeared on her son's lips.

"I'll hold you to that," He whispered, finally finding comfort in his mother's words. "How about another ride?"

Piper Halliwell smiled, stood and keeping her arm around the brunette beside her, walked away from the table.

"Sure."


End file.
